Bible translators Wycliffe, Summer Institute of Linguistics
(SIL) and Frontiers reportedly have begun replacing the names of
God to Islamic terms such as allah. On January 4th, Biblical
Missiology, an organization dedicated to presenting the Bible
truthfully in missions, weighed into the debate by issuing a
petition asking the three translators to "commit in writing to
preserve the terms "Father," "Son," and "Son of God" in the text
of their Bible translations." Biblical Missiology said it is
"particularly concerned about new initiatives called "Insider
Movements" (IM) and "Muslim Idiom Translations" (MIT) that
present a distorted and incomplete portrayal of the person and
work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."

The petition stated: "Western missions agencies Wycliffe,
Frontiers and SIL are producing Bibles that remove Father, Son
and Son of God because these terms are offensive to Muslims."
Biblical Missiology reports that Wycliffe responded in writing,
saying, "The titles are not removed, but are translated more
accurately to the inspired Greek. The issue is not that the
Greek term is offensive to Muslims, rather that traditional
translations of it are so inaccurate that they communicate the
wrong meaning, appearing to say God has sex with women, and give
readers the impression the translation is corrupt." There is no
mention of this anywhere on the Wycliffe or SIL websites, so we
are dependent on Biblical Missiology as a reputable source.

Notwithstanding, Wycliffe's response should be unacceptable to
every Christian. Changing the translation of the Bible to avoid
the appearance that the translation is corrupt is in itself
corrupt. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart." Converts from Islam to Christianity often site the power
of the gospel, that God so loved the world that he sent his only
begotten son to die on the cross for the remission of our sins,
for accepting Christ. The choice becomes clear: death cult of
Islam or everlasting life of Christianity.

This is truly a sign of the times. There have been many
movements afoot in Christianity to make God, Christ, and the
Holy Spirit what man wants them to be rather than what the WORD
OF GOD says they are. Now even Bible translators, once
considered very reputable, are changing the translations so as
to not be offensive to man. If they are changing Christ into
their own image, what Christ are we following? The true Christ
or the man-made Christ? I will tell you this: if you are
depending on your pastor or television set to answer that
question for you, you are in troubled waters. Even your pastor
will say to study the Bible and check what he says. Arm yourself
with a traditional translation, a Greek and Hebrew concordance,
and see for yourself who is teaching truth or error. You will be
amazed.